After Sai
by takamiya yukio
Summary: Shindou Hikaru, Jung-shin is of half Japanese and half Korean descent. He lived his life normally until a certain goban intruded, leaving with him the mystery of his past life. Yet what changes does the appearance of a certain red head bring? This is a Hikaru x Yeong-ha fic, though I know that not many people ship them XD. Rated T for the later chapters. WILL BE UPDATED SOON.
1. Chapter 1: Memories passed down

**My first ever fanfiction, so please don't hesitate to criticize. Thank you mina!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Hikaru no Go or any of it's characters. They belong to their original author(Forgot his/her name XD)**

 **Summary: Shindou Hikaru, Jung-shin is a half Japanese and half Korean born child. He lived his life normally until a certain goban intruded, leaving with him the mystery of his past life. Yet what changes does the appearance of a certain red head bring?**

Chapter 1

Tokyo, Japan...Hikaru, 12 years old.

Shindou Hikaru, Jung-shin, 12 years old sneakily climbed up the stairs of the senior Shindou's household with his childhood friend, Fujisaki Akari in tow. "Hurry Akari, before Ji-san realizes that we're gone!"he says, pulling Akari by the hand towards the attic. The attic was a enclosed dark space filled with dust and cobwebs. Hikaru coughed slightly and let go of his friend's hand, moving deeper into the darkness. "I can barely see anything in here," Hikaru said as he squinted. He was already in a bad mood from having to come here to rummage about Shindou Heihachi's collection, figuring that he may find something valuable to sell. If it weren't for his mother whom had yet again decrease his allowance, he wouldn't have had to do this.

"Hikaru, I don't think we should be doing this,"Akari whined, impatient to leave the attic. "We'll get in trouble if we're caught."

"Don't be such a wimp Akari," Hikaru said as he continued to dig about the clutter. "Ji-san rarely comes up here and probably has already forgotten about half of the stuff here. Besides, with so much rubbish around, I doubt he'd notice if one or two went missing." That was when the cube in a corner caught his eye. Hikaru approached the goban and dragged it out to the center of the room. It was heavy, undoubtedly expensive was Hikaru's thought. Excitement bubbled up from within and he started to clean the dust of the goban's surface using the hem of his shirt. "Hm? This stain isn't coming off," he mumbled to himself, rubbing at the red stain which look creepily like blood.

Akari shuffled closer to peer at the goban,"What stain?" she asked. "I don't see any stain Hikaru, don't say such stuff to scare me." She honestly couldn't spot a single stain.

"It's right there!"Hikaru stressed, pointing at the mentioned blood like stain. Akari begin to feel afraid and decided to leave, leaving Hikaru alone in the attic. Hikaru returned his attention to cleaning the goban, believing that with the stain there, the goban's value would decrease. He was vaguely aware of a slight headache which seemed to be getting stronger by the seconds. The blood stain pulsated in sync with the throbbing of his head. Before the pain got unbearable though, his surroundings disappeared and was replaced by images.

* * *

Historical figures wearing thick robes, a large palace and a beautiful garden. In the middle of the garden stood a patio connected to one of the palace's many rooms. Two figures sat opposite each other and in between them was a goban. The Emperor was in front of him, Hikaru...no, Fujiwara no Sai thought. As usual, they would be playing Go. He as a mentor to the Emperor.

Everywhere Fujiwara no Sai went, he was respected, awed and many came to him for advice or war strategies. His very essence was the game itself, he lived to play it. But alas, every story had an ending and so did his. Branded a cheater, Fujiwara no Sai was exiled from the palace and forbidden to play. His name was erased from the list of the Emperor's Go tutors for committing such a disgraceful act. This was of course in the eyes of those who didn't know the truth. So deep was his love for the game, Fujiwara no Sai couldn't...wouldn't ever allow himself to cheat. The despair at being forbidden to play, so painful it was, extremely unbearable. He wanted to play, again and again. Even as he stepped into the freezing waters of the river, tears flowing down his porcelain cheeks, his only thoughts were...

'I want to play...

And if I can't in this life, then this life has no meaning...

Dear Kami-sama, I still want to play...

Be it in this life or the next, I want to continue playing...

For I have yet to attain it...

The Hand of God...'

Water filled his lungs painfully as he choked. His hand reached out to the surface of the water then his vision blurred and everything went black.

Honinbou Shuusaku, the greatest player ever known in history. Originally named Torajiro before receiving his title, he held his first Go stone as a boy. Mysteriously, to his tutors and family, the boy displayed great insight and understanding of the game despite having just started learning. In time, his name was known to scholars and even the Emperor himself. Torajiro at the tender age of 20, began to travel throughout the whole of ancient Japan, spreading his knowledge of Go and playing together with Go masters from all over the world.

But it appears that even this life time wasn't enough. At the age of 34, a great plague hit Japan, taking away the lives of many. Torajiro was no exception, the plague slowly seeped away his strength, soon he was to weak to even pick up a stone. In his last moments, Torajiro placed a hand on his beloved goban, reluctant to part with it. He coughed, his blood splattered on the smooth surface then blackness.

* * *

Hikaru gasped and shot up from the bed, coughing and inhaling big gulps of air. That was him, he drowned, then he died a second time from the plague. No... they weren't him, he was alive wasn't he? Hikaru breathed a sigh of relieve and turned to his mother's face staring worriedly at him.

"Are you feeling alright Hikaru?" Lee Young-in asked her son. "We found you unconscious in the attic, what were you doing there?" Hikaru kept quiet, he couldn't possibly tell his mother that he had been intending to sell his grandfather's collection for allowance.

"That goban got my attention, but I guess all that dust got to me," he said with a nervous laugh. His mother narrowed her eyes in suspicion but otherwise left him alone.

"We can't have you falling sick all the time Hikaru," she said. "We leave for Korea to live with your grandmother next week remember?" Young-in lightly knocked her son's head. "And stop being so mischievous all the time, focus on your studies too," Hikaru nodded his head lazily. He had heard this lecture many times before and had long gotten tired of hearing it again and again.

In three days, Hikaru found himself once again in Shindou Heihachi's house going over his grandfather's collection of kifu. He hadn't actually intended to look at them but somehow his curiosity got the better of him due to the relevance of the game to his vision. Shindou Heihachi sat in front of his goban, a stone between his middle and forefinger. But his hand was frozen in mid-air instead of placing the stone on the board. Never in his life did he once thought that his grandson would be interested in Go, a game that said grandson had claimed to be an 'old man's game'. Heihachi could barely restrain the tears of joy which were threatening to burst forth.

"Hikaru, are you interested in learning the game?"he asked eagerly, hoping that his grandson was truly showing an interest in the game.

Hikaru looked up from the book and looked at Heihachi. "Ji-chan, this game looks familiar, who played it?" His grandfather owned many of these books, in fact, that was just one of six hundred books, all records of Shuusaku's games. But Hikaru didn't know that, he was still waiting for his grandfather's answer.

"Every one of those games are played by Honinbou Shuusaku, the greatest Go player of all time," Heihachi explained. Who knew that his grandson who always failed in history would be interested in such a famous historical figure.

Honinbou Shuusaku, Hikaru's eyes were wide, shock evident in their midst. That name...that man who died in that plague. Hikaru dropped the book and rushed towards his grandfather, grabbing the old man's hands. "What about Sai, Ji-chan?! Do you know any Go players by the name of Fujiwara no Sai?"

Heihachi scratched his head and thought hard,"Fujiwara no Sai...nope, doesn't ring a bell. Why do you ask?"

Hikaru's legs gave out and his bottom landed on the tatami floor. Shuusaku exists but Sai doesn't, how was that possible? What role did they play in his life, why did he have a vision about them? Confusion clouded his mind as he moved to pick up the book once again to read it. He didn't know why he understood every hand that was made by the players who played this game. Rather than that, he felt like he was the one who played this game. He could almost visualize how his opponent had looked like, an old man with a long beard wearing a tall hat.

Hikaru returned his attention to Heihachi,"Ji-chan, play a game with me. If I win, give me that goban in the attic" To be sure, he wanted to test, to see if he really knew the game without learning it and that goban was his only connection to Sai and Torajiro.

Heihachi looked up from his goban in surprise," a game? You haven't studied Go before, what makes you think that you could beat me?"he said this with disbelieve. " I'll have you know that I've won many amateur tournaments in my time," he said gesturing to the shelf of trophies attain in his younger days.

"Yeah yeah," Hikaru replied lazily, he had heard this countless times as well. "Just hurry and play me so that I can get my goban." He hadn't realized how he had unconsciously claimed the goban as his.

* * *

Twenty minutes later...

Heihachi stared at the goban in shock. Impossible. But the impossible had already occurred. "When did you learn to play Go so well Hikaru, I never knew you played so well,"the old man commented.

Hikaru himself was in shock but he tried to seem nonchalant about it. "Secret Ji-chan, I'll get the goban when I leave for Korea next week. I need to go back now or Oka-san won't give me dinner again. Ja!" He left the house in a hurry and ran all the way home. Upon closing the door of his room, Hikaru leant against the door and slid to the floor breathing heavily.

He knew how to play! He knew how to play! Something that wasn't possible. Hikaru had never touched Go his whole life but he knew it. What made the game so scary was because he enjoyed it. He enjoyed it so immensely. Hikaru remembered how he felt upon touching the Go stone... Nostalgia, peace, excitement, happiness and relieve. Hikaru lifted his hand to touch his face, the were wet he realized. Hikaru had been crying tears of joy, relieved and happy that he had finally gotten to play again, even now, he couldn't wait to play another game. He knew that this was the reason for his tears, but they weren't his feelings. These feelings belonged to Sai, Sai whom had desired to play Go until he attained the Hand of God.

* * *

Hikaru pushed the luggage cart through the junction in the Korean airport, the goban was packed away safely in a box among his luggage. "Eomeoni!(Mother!) Slow down, you're too fast!" He called, scrambling after his parents whom had stopped to wait for him.

Shindou Masao beamed at his son," leave that goban and you'll be able to move faster,"he said good-naturedly. Hikaru snorted and continued to move on without a reply.

 **Author's note:**

 **And that concludes the end of my first chapter. I hope you peeps enjoyed it! In case you all were wondering, Hikaru is half Japanese and half Korean. As you can all guess, his grandmother on Korea is on his maternal side. Hikaru will be living in Korea for a while before returning to Japan.**

 **Anyways, I won't be spoiling. Don't forget to review, do tell me the areas in which I can improve on. I apologize if Hikaru was a bit ooc, but I am trying my best to get his character right. Ja mina! I'll see you all in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: Ko Yeong-ha

**Back again with yet another chapter muahahahah!**  
 **By the way, just a quick note. I will be addressing Hikaru as Jung-shin when he is in Korea, upon his return to Japan, his name will be returned to Hikaru.**

 **Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own HnG or any of its characters.**

Chapter 2

Seoul, Korea...Hikaru is 13 years old.

"Jung-shin! Wait up!"

Jung-shin turned around in response to the voice which had addressed him. It was Su-young, one of his juniors a year younger than him. Said boy was currently in a mad dash towards him, barely stopping in time before he slid past Jung-shin. Su-young, despite being only 12 years old was a rare talent at Go, becoming a Go professional at the age of 10. Both Su-young and himself hit it off almost immediately after meeting each other. Su-young though, seemed to have a self-claimed rivalry with Jung-shin when he lost their first match together. Jung-shin could remember the guilt he felt when the younger boy burst into tears. After all, it wasn't common to find an 11 year old Go professional around, Su-young most definitely wasn't used to getting defeated by a boy close to his age.

Getting back to the current situation, classes had just ended and Jung-shin had made off with a Go book in hand, walking down the corridor while reading. This was one of the rare days in which Su-young didn't have a game and was present in school. Jung-shin smiled at his friend,"Slow down Su-young, I'm not in a hurry."

Su-young sent a glare his way,"you aren't but I am! When are we going to play that game you promised me?!"

Jung-shin gave him an almost innocent look,"I think that question should be asked by me Su-young. We rarely ever see each other due to your job to even play a game, when will you have the time to play a game with me?" Jung-shin was in a way also impatient to play a game with the younger boy, after all despite not proving a challenge to him, Su-young was still miles ahead of the members of the Go club. As many would wonder, how was Jung-shin fairing in the Go world. He had long gotten used to his strength in Go after figuring that all these probably had something to do with his past life. It was the only conclusion he could come to after months of headaches. Eventually, he gave up trying to find out anything or investigate if his hypothesis was true. He decided to fully immerse himself in his love that was Go, working towards the similar goal of his past lives. The Hand of God.

Su-young spluttered for a come back but could think of none. "W-well, I'm free this afternoon, we could play at my house,"he mumbled before walking past Jung-shin. Jung-shin grinned and followed his younger friend. As they walked, Jung-shin returned his attention to the Go book in his hands, but before long Su-young interupted him again. "What book are you reading?"

Jung-shin looked up from the book and flipped it to the cover page, showing it to the other boy. "An advanced book written by Touya Meijin himself,"he replied. Su-young looked at the book curiously, taking the book from Jung-shin and reading it himself.

Moments later, Su-young looked up from the book and stared at his friend incredulously. "I can't believe you understand this, and you aren't even a Go professional. How far does your strength go Jung-shin?"

Jung-shin shrugged, he truly believed that he didn't have an answer for Su-young. After all it wasn't everyday that you see a boy with a year of experience in Go, beating a Go professional. No one would believe him even if he told them the truth. Jung-shin had once been naive enough to confide in his mother when she asked him of his sudden interest in the game. He told her everything, his sudden love for Go, the visions in the attic and his suspicion that he may be the reincarnation of Shuusaku whom was the reincarnation of Sai. But said woman only told him to lay off the manga in future. That was when Jung-shin decided that it was useless telling anyone and that it was better to keep it to himself, even he agreed that it was unbelievable.

"I don't know,"he replied. "But I do know that you're a long way from ever beating me,"he grinned. Su-young's eyes narrowed as he rolled up the book, thwacking the back of Jung-shin's head with it. "Oww! Careful there, that's my book you're using and it isn't exactly very thin there," Jung-shin whined, rubbing the forming bump.

"That's the whole point of using it isn't it?" Su-young replied, guiltless. Jung-shin grumbled under his breath and continued to follow the younger boy.

* * *

'Pachi'

The sound of a Go stone echoed throughout the room, relished by Jung-shin's ears. He'd never get tired of listening to the sound of Go stones being placed upon the goban. The atmosphere of the room was serene and calm, Su-young was in front of him ponderng on his next move. Sweat beaded down the 12 year old boy's forehead despite the cool air-conditioning in the room. Jung-shin watched his friend quietly, observing his expressions which was also an important way to read his opponent. People tend to let down their guard and let their expressions show when in deep thought, this way Jung-shin could tell if the opponent was planning something just from expressions alone. But this wasn't the first time Su-young was playing with him, he learnt his lesson after Jung-shin explained this fact. It was a lie to say that Su-young didn't learn a thing from him, in fact he had improved tremendously since meeting Jung-shin.

'Pachi'

Su-young made his move. Jung-shin's eyes flickered as he returned his attention to the board, lips twitching the slightest bit but unnoticeable. Su-young had stepped right into the trap which he had elaborately created since the beginning of the game. His expression betrayed nothing as he placed down another soldier, forming an eye right in the middle of the battlefield. Territory successfully captured.

Su-young's eyes widened in realization and he hurriedly slapped down another stone in attempt to regain more territory. However, in fifteen hands, he saw the consequences of his actions. While trying to regain territory, his initial ones were left with poor defence and succumbed to Jung-shin's merciless army. It was a total massacre. Jung-shin was never one to go easy on opponents weaker than him. He wouldn't call that bullying them either, in his perspective, going easy on his opponents meant disrespecting their Go. And Su-young shared that view as well, no honourable Go player would accept mercy from their opponents.

* * *

"Goddamnit you're merciless Jung-shin," Su-young whined after resigning. He looked at the clock and grumbled even more,"you're even worse than Yeong-ha, beating me in half an hour. Yeong-ha takes at least forty-five minutes."

Jung-shin grinned,"well, whoever this Yeong-ha is, you must be not in his league as well if he beats you in such a short time." He quickly ducked when a cushion came flying at him. Sticking out his tongue, he continued to tease his friend,"you should work harder before looking for me again." He danced out of the other boy's reach when Su-young came at him with another cushion. Laughing, Jung-shin ran out of the room with Su-young hot on his heels. A cushion connected with the back of his head and he finally stopped running. "Geez Su-young, you should stop being so violent, girls wouldn't like you that way,"he teased again.

Su-young threw another cushion in his face. "I don't need one and what would you know of girls at your age anyway?"

Jung-shin placed his hands on his hips and snorted. "I know plenty. Tell you what, since you're my friend I'll let you in on a secret,"he wrapped an arm around Su-young's shoulder and whispered. "When I was in Japan, you can't imagine how charming I was. I had girls grovelling at my feet every single day and at least ten confessions during break. My locker would always be filled to the brim with love letters instead of books-"before he could continue, Su-young pushed him away laughing.

"As if I would believe that,"he replied amidst his giggles. "If that were truly the case, you would be a child celebrity instead of eating books in school."

Jung-shin sniffed and fingered a piece of his blonde fringe,"how insulting and incredibly crude you are my dear friend. As difficult as it is to lie to you, you should at least tell me I'm handsome since I'm your friend."

Su-young laughed again,"I wouldn't want to lie to myself,"he replied and toppled over from laughter when Jung-shin started wiping invisible tears. "If anything, I would say that Yeong-ha is the most handsome kid I've met so far. He's 14 this year and even women are already falling at his feet. Literally."

"Stop!" Jung-shin exclaimed as he shot out his hand dramatically to stop Su-young from saying more. "I don't want to hear no more! Not a word!" He cried, wiping at invisible tears and crumpling his shirt in the expression of clutchng his chest painfully. Su-young fell off the chair clutching at his stomach, laughing hysterically.

"Enough! I can't take it anymore, my stomach hurts so bad!"he cried, trying to cease his laughter. "Let's discuss the game instead."

Jung-shin straightened up and followed hs friend back to the room, a large grin still on his face. But when they got back to the goban, the still atmosphere was back. His eyes darted over the board, replaying the whole game inside his head. Trying out different scenarios in which the game could have been played better, all these happened over a few seconds until Su-young waved a hand over the goban to get his attention. Jung-shin's eyes snapped back up to look at Su-young.

"Quite the concentration you have there,"Su-young mused,"you couldn't even hear me." He pointed to an area on the goban,"I don't get why my territory over here was taken even when I had built up a strong defence." He couldn't fathom why, he had so carefully built up a wall to protect his largest territory but Jung-shin had so casually made it his.

Jung-shin smiled,"look at the placing of my stones from the eleventh hand onwards, you'll see why then,"he replied. The question that Su-young had asked was related to the elaborate trap he had created, it seems that the boy still hadn't realized that it was there. Su-young heeded his friend's words and started to study the position of Jung-shin's stones carefully. His eyes slowly widened when realization hit him,"the heck! I could never have spotted that if you hadn't told me!" he exclaimed. Jung-shin was truly out of his league, perhaps even better than Yeong-ha. Su-young knew that, but he never would have thought that such a well hidden trap could be created by a 13 year old boy.

"And that's the whole point of me usng it, isn't it?"Jung-shin replied, throwing Su-young's words right back at him. Su-young sulked and they returned to discussing the game.

* * *

Two hours flew by quickly as they lost track of time, noses buried deep into the game. When they finally finished, Jung-shin looked at the clock and cried out in horror. "Crap! It's past my curfew. Gotta go Su-young or you'll see me a starved man tomorrow, byeee" He quickly grabbed his bag and rushed to the door, swinging it open only to bump into a tall chest. Jung-shin cradled his nose and cursed his luck inwardly, why were Koreans so tall? Mumbling an apology, he raced out of the compound.

* * *

"Who was that?" a 14 year old Ko Yeong-ha asked when he had settled down on the couch in Su-young's flat. A unique boy had bumped into him, pale skin and black hair with the exception of bleached bangs. The boy looked like a punk despite his age, someone whom Su-young would never hang out with. Not to mention, he didn't look Korean.

"That was Jung-shin, the boy I told you about. He's half Korean and Japanese,"Su-young replied excitedly. To be precise, everything about a Go made him excited.

Yeong-ha yawned,"you've told me about many people Su-young. I can't remember if they're not significant enough,"he replied, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the couch. Did Su-young tell him about a boy with bleached bangs before? He truly couldn't remember. Then again, whatever Su-young told him was always related to Go, but Yeong-ha never truly paid attention unless they were worth his time.

"He's a prodigy at Go! Probably even better than-" Su-young exclaimed but was cut off by Yeong-ha.

"Is he a pro?"

"Well no...but-"

"Then I'm not interested," Yeong-ha cut him off again. He finally remembered who Su-young was talking about. A boy who was a year younger than him...better than him at Go? The world would have to end by then, Yeong-ha didn't believe that a kid in his generation would be better than himself, he was the best around. If there truly were kids his age who were better than him, Yeong-ha would have had a rival by now instead of having to play old geezers every single day. Old geezers with breath the smell of stale cigarettes which made him want to retch, people who didn't understand youngsters. Yeong-ha couldn't stand them, but his love for Go made him tolerate. He didn't want study sessions with them but he had to for Go. How Yeong-ha longed for a rival. If there truly was a kid out there who could match him in strength, Yeong-ha hoped that he appeared quickly...

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Finally done with the second chapter, sorry for the wait peeps! So Yeong-ha finally came out, hope I played his character well. Don't forget to review and tell me on how I can improve. And lastly, if there are any mistakes I made, they are not on purpose but do point them out to me. Arigatou mina!**


	3. Chapter 3: Netgo Saint Sai

**Go me! Back again with yet another chappy, I'm truly amazed at my speed.**

 **Many thanks to Dianne060807 for your lovely reviews. If you had an account on Fanfiction , I would most definitely reply to your reviews.**

 **Lastly, I want to let you guys know that I know Nothing about Go,** **Absolutely Nothing. So you can all guess that whatever I write is just bullcrap, but I just want to make them seem like they know what they're doing..so yeah. But if you guys really mind the Go part then I suggest that you just ignore it.**

 **Anyways, I want to thank you guys for all your support, please enjoy this chapter as well!**

* * *

Chapter 3

Jung-shin flopped himself face-down on his bed and groaned loudly,"so hungryyy!" His mother had denied him dinner after he had passed his curfew by half an hour. Su-young's house wasn't exactly very close either. He was just lucky that he had been particularly good at soccer in Japan that he was fit enough to run all the way home. However, all that exercise didn't exactly help his stomach now, it protested every now and then. His mother was truly cruel, depriving a growing boy of food. But Jung-shin had a solution for that should the time ever came that he passed his curfew again.

Grinning to himself, Jung-shin got off the bed and locked his door before heading towards his bookshelf where Go books took up the top half and school books the bottom. He took a chair and stood on it after which he slowly started to remove some of the Go books on the highest shelf. There it was! His secret stash of snacks. Jung-shin retrieved a bag of chips and tore open the packet. If his mother didn't have the rule of 'no dinner if he passed his curfew', Jung-shin would never have thought of this.

With the bag of chips in his hand, Jung-shin got off his chair and sat at his desk. The laptop which lay unattended there finally came to use. A few months ago, he finally had an excuse to ask his father to get him one when the school introduced e-learning. Besides that, he could also use it for Go related stuff. Jung-shin logged onto the laptop and opened a tab for Netgo, a site he came across a few months ago. The site allowed him to play Go with players from all over the world over the internet, strong or weak, he got to experience players of different levels. If he was lucky, he got to play some pros from Japan, Korea or China, at least those were the common ones on Netgo. Especially since Go wasn't a particularly popular game in western countries. But some westerners did play Go, people like _master_ on Netgo who were American.

Jung-shin logged onto his account and was immediately flooded with challenges. His Netgo handle was _Sai_. Initially, he had a hard time deciding what username to choose, one that wasn't old-fashioned or too dorky. But then nothing he came up with seemed to work….until he recalled Fujiwara no Sai. It wouldn't hurt to play as his past self, after all everything began from Sai. Sai was the one who desired the Hand of God from the beginning which then went on to Torajiro then himself.

Jung-shin was more than aware of the rumors going around about Netgo Saint Sai thanks to Su-young or he never would have known. Said boy was so enthusiastic about Sai that he couldn't stop talking about him for an hour. Usually after a game, his opponents would try to strike up a conversation with him seeing as he never stayed to talk. But they're questions were always the same. Either 'are you a pro?' or 'are you Japanese or Korean?' The second question was posed because he had a Japanese handle but was located in Korea. Jung-shin only replied to the second but his answers were also always similar. 'Guess', then he would leave the chat. Personally, Jung-shin wasn't fond of attention, but as long as he remained anonymous, he was certain that he could maintain this peaceful life.

Jung-shin accepted a challenge from _Gomonster55_ , a 7 dan amateur level. As usual, his game was crowded with tons of viewers that even the server was full. They exchanged greetings and started the game. Jung-shin received black with the 5 komi advantage and started first.

Ten hands into the game, Jung-shin was totally absorbed by the game, enjoying it. His opponent wasn't bad and usually when Jung-shin enjoyed a game, he'd tend to drag it out longer. He played a hand at the top right corner of the board to build up more defence and for the next five hands, focused on that area while his opponent worked on capturing his other territories. Jung-shin was losing a few of his territory but was in no hurry to recover them, he focused on strengthening the defence of the more significant cluster of stones. By the time he was done, two-thirds of the board now belonged to _Gomaster55._

Jung-shin released the mouse and stretched his fingers before grabbing the mouse again. The real game began at this moment. He placed a stone at the bottom right corner of the board where a small cluster of soldiers had been positioned there previously, securing the last gap. An eye had been formed, the opponent couldn't get make that area his anymore. _Gomaster55_ began to work on a smaller cluster of Jung-shin's stones in the north region but Jung-shin paid no heed to defend. He began to work on setting his trap, if there was anything he was good at, it was traps.

Twenty-five hands later, Jung-shin was looking at the board intensely. Almost there, his opponent was so close to his trap but had seemed to hesitate. Did he spot it? Jung-shin was anxious. Two seconds later, _Gomaster55_ stepped right into the trap made specially for him. "Yes!" Jung-shin pumped his fist and jumped out of his seat, his victory was secured. His opponent resigned within the next five minutes.

"Jung-shin!"just then, he heard his grandmother calling for him from downstairs.

"Coming Halmeoni!"(Grandmother)he called back and hurriedly logged off Netgo. He jumped out of his seat and made his way down. His grandmother usually didn't disturb him in the evenings knowing that he had homework to be done, what could she want? "Yes Halmeoni?" he asked when he reached his grandmother.

"Come here Jung-shin,"his grandmother beckoned him closer to where she stood near the dining table. Jung-shin saw food. Rice with kimchi and soup, his mouth watered. Although he wasn't really a big fan of kimchi, he didn't want to say anything to his grandmother who had saved some food for him. "Your mother is out with your father tonight, don't tell her okay? And try to come back on time in future."

"Yes Halmeoni!" Jung-shin exclaimed happily and dug into his food.

* * *

"Young master, dinner is ready," a maid called from the entrance of his room.

Yeong-ha didn't bother to look away from the screen of his laptop,"is Eomeoni home?"

"Yes sir," the maid said a frown. It was clear throughout the household that Yeong-ha and his mother didn't get along, so his next sentence was pretty much expected. They didn't have meals together nor spent any family time together. Yeong-ha's mother was a serious business woman who was also a sponsor for the Seoul Go Association. But despite being a sponsor, she didn't support Yeong-ha's decision to become a Go pro although she knew he was an exceptional talent at it. As a business woman, image and reputation was extremely crucial to her. And although being a Go professional wasn't exactly a disgraceful job, it wasn't sophisticated enough for her. The job which suited her son had to involve the highest education and upbringing just like a noble of the Heian era. They had to be above every 'commoner'.

"Bring my dinner here," he said focusing on the game before him. The game between _Sai_ and _Gomaster55_. Yeong-ha had never personally played _Sai_ before, preferring to study his skills further before issuing a challenge. He watched as _Sai_ beat about the bush with his opponent and snorted. Yeong-ha didn't get the point in wasting time with people who weren't worth it. _Sai_ was a formidable player but wasting his time like this would be his downfall. Yeong-ha had always believed that strong players got their strength from a goal which was most commonly the Hand of God and he believed that _Sai_ was no different.

The game ended and _Sai_ logged off, Yeong-ha did the same. The enigma that was _Sai_ , he wanted to find out more about the Netgo Saint. Yeong-ha had study many of Shuusaku's kifu since young and _Sai's_ Go had an uncanny resemblance, an avid fan of the historical figure perhaps? But the similarity was impossibly similar, like Shuusaku himself adapting to modern rules. He took note of _Sai's_ online hours and noticed that it didn't match with that of a pro's, so _Sai_ wasn't a pro that much was obvious. Was he a student? That didn't seem possible either. That kind of strength...the youngest age he could be was probably a middle aged man. But Yeong-ha hadn't had the chance to witness his full capability, he couldn't judge accurately yet. Yeong-ha leant back in his seat massaging his head. Hopefully things will become more clear when he finally played _Sai_ himself.

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 **Author's note:**

 **Wheeww...finally done. Did you guys enjoy it? It seems that Yeong-ha isn't the perfect little boy whom we all know, he's got some family problems of his own. Hmmm...should I make the next chapter Yeong-ha and Hikaru's official meeting? Do let me know your votes, I'll pick the majority.^^**

 **And I noticed that this chapter was significantly shorter, really sorry for that. But please stay tuned for more, I promise they'll be longer in future and don't forget to review! Ja mina!**


	4. Author's Note

Hello again peeps! First of all, a thousand apologies to everyone whom have supported me so far. And also, I'm sorry that this wasn't an update seeing as many of you have asked me to do so. I love your reviews, I really do! They were great, full of encouragements for me to continue writing and my heart sored with every single one that came. I won't ever give up on this fic, I promise to see it through to the end but I may have to go on hiatus for a short while. And I DO mean A SHORT WHILE, at most another month or two. To be honest, exam period is in a few weeks and I totally forgot that I had started my own Fanfic having immersed myself in studies. I beg you guys not to give up on my fic. I know that previously, I updated like a rocket for three chapters but suddenly stopped. Again, I am really really sorry and I ask that you guys give me some time till my exams are over. Please forgive me guys!*bows* 


	5. Chapter 4: Impressed?

**FINALLY! EXAMS ARE OVER...WELCOME BACK TO LAZY DAYS. It feels so good to be able to dump my books aside and await the next semester. I apologise to everyone for making you wait these two months. The next few chapters will probably come weekly if I don't suffer the dreaded disease called writer's block. Anyways, I got some reviews telling me to let Hikaru and Yeong-ha meet and some telling me to just let the story flow. Personally, I would agree with the second, then I realised that letting the story flow still led to their meeting. Welp, enjoy!**

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Chapter 4

Large green eyes surveyed the vast hall before him, crowded with everything to do with Go. This was heaven for Go fanatics like himself. Jung-shin finally managed to will his legs to step through the entrance of the foyer in the Seoul Go Institute. Booths lined the walls, selling Go related products of all kinds, going from books to polished gobans etc. The event was a Go tournament held for amateurs, followed by teaching games with a few lower dan pros. But that wasn't the most important thing to Jung-shin at this point. Like the enthusiastic child he was, Jung-shin hopped from booth to booth, eyes shining at everything they locked onto. Praise Su-young for inviting him to this event or he would never have had the chance to touch all these treasures.

Jung-shin picked a book off a shelf and flipped it open, skimming through the pages hungrily, much like the way his past self was. Sai was enthusiastic at everything related to Go, living for the game itself and dying for it as well. Jung-sin wasn't supposed to be like that, he knew he wasn't, was his actions influenced by Sai's love for the game? Their personalities were so different. Sai was an elegant and graceful heian noble while Jung-shin was a loud, rude and sporty brat. He liked to think that everything he did for Go was due to his own desire to play the game, not Sai's. But then again, Sai was Jung-shin and Jung-shin was Sai, could Sai's love for the game be allowed to call his own? He was so very confused.

Jung-shin slowly looked up from the book, anguish evident on his face before he quickly stilled his features. Perhaps it was a mistake to have came here today, Jung-shin didn't let himself think of these things until he came here, a place ridden with Go. He replaced the book in its original location and left the booth in deep thought, oblivious of the vendor's crest fallen face when he didn't purchase the book.

Jung-shin walked past the booths, this time his eyes were focused on his shoes.

'WHAM!' Aaaaannndd of course he would bump into someone. Jung-shin stumbled backwards, lifted his head and spotted a middle aged man staring down at him. He mumbled an apology and made to leave before he was stopped.

"Wait boy," the man called out. "You play Go?" The man's name was An Teson, a fairly respected Go player in Seoul, but of course Jung-shin didn't know that. An Teson himself also didn't expect to see a boy like Jung-shin in the institute. The way the boy dressed was nothing like a refined Go player. And the way he blatantly stared was also unlike Go players who respected each other even when not playing.

"No I don't," Jung-shin replied hesitantly and proceeded to rush off...only to be stopped again...by dear Su-young.

"Jung-shin! You came!" Su-young exclaimed, smiling and running towards them. "How do you feel about the games, were they good?" He just had to come at such a timing.

'I thought you didn't play Go," An Teson inquired.

Su-young bowed to the older man before speaking,"Jung-shin doesn't play Go? As if!" Eyes shining at Jung-shin as if he were a celebrity he said," Jung-shin sweeps me off the board every time we play."

Jung-shin couldn't help the facepalm, Su-young spoke too much. Why oh why did Su-young get so excited at everything related to Go?

An Teson raised a brow at Jung-shin,"Oh? Then he must be good, why hasn't he gone pro?"

Jung-shin took a moment to glare at Su-young before replying,"because I don't want to,"and walked away. Su-young gave him a questionable look before once again bowing to An Teson and went after his friend.

"Jung-shin!" Su-young called out for his friend to stop, however said boy made no move to do so. Instead, he quickened his pace, moving even further away from his younger friend. He didn't get why Jung-shin was mad at him. Was it so wrong to brag to the world that his friend was a prodigy at Go? Su-young scratched his head and caught up to the boy with bleached bangs. " Jung-shin, are you angry?" He asked hesitantly.

Jung-shin turned his head, his steps never faltering. "Why would I be angry? I'm just desperate to get out of here, the atmosphere is suffocating, my head hurts and I'm tired." Jung-shin tried to ignore all the Go, walking past games that he just wanted to stop and look at. He wanted to play a game, everything around him made his fingers itch to lift a stone. But Jung-shin wouldn't attract attention to himself here, not in a place where plenty of pros roamed. He knew fully well how strong he was, how strong Sai was and he couldn't play just anywhere he liked. The internet was still the safest haven to play to his heart's content.

WHAM! Again! What's with him and bumping into people this few days. Oh? This guy looked familiar, who was he? Ah...yes, they met at Su-young's house hadn't they? Well, not exactly met, they bumped...and this was their second bump. Jung-shin stared stupefied at the handsome young boy before him and Yeong-ha stared back with equal curiosity. Yeong-ha had the silkiest long hair Jung-shin had ever seen. Too bad he didn't have the time to admire him the previous time they bumped into each other. It glowed a brilliant red, Jung-shin couldn't help but be dazzled by it. He didn't let his awe show though, hurriedly, he adverted his eyes and stepped away from the taller boy.

"Yeong-ha! Didn't you have a game in…...ten minutes? Why aren't you preparing for it?" Su-young asked with a glance at his watch. Go conventions like this often held non-official games between pros for the public to watch. A commentator would stand by the side to explain the moves to the audience. Today, Yeong-ha was scheduled for such a game but didn't seem to be in a hurry for it. He didn't reply to Su-young but instead continued to stare at Jung-shin, causing said boy further discomfort.

So this was the Jung-shin that Su-young often ranted about? Honestly, the boy looked like he didn't seem much. Bleached bangs and untidy clothes, he gave the impression of someone who wouldn't know a thing about Go let alone be serious about it. Perhaps Su-young was wrong, perhaps he just wanted someone to look up to...but wouldn't Yeong-ha be perfect for that role? This boy that looked so alike a hooligan couldn't possibly be stronger than him. Yeong-ha would show Su-young that he judged wrong and that Yeong-ha would forever be the strongest youth.

Leaning forward so that their faces were close, Yeong-ha stared straight into Jung-shin's eyes, challenging him. "Watch my game, I'll let you know just how strong I am," and with that, he stalked off, as elegantly as he ever was.

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Moments later, Jung-shin was seated among the audience, eyes burning fiercely at the red head on the stage. Mainly, it was Yeong-ha who dragged him to a seat before going up to the stage. But Jung-shin wasn't exactly pleased with the indirect challenge the older boy had issued through his eyes. He didn't even know what on earth was up with the boy. Still, if he wanted Jung-shin to witness his strength then by all means he wouldn't refuse. If Yeong-ha wanted to challenge him then Jung-shin would have to judge his skill. Though he wasn't even sure what Yeong-ha was challenging him for.

'Pachi'

The game had started and the commentator started speaking. "Ko Yeong-ha takes the first turn with black. He starts with the upper right corner at 5-5, ooh he seems confident." Jung-shin stared at the board that was shown through the projector. He made a solid opening, if he managed to protect that stone then it could be very helpful later in the game. The game progressed slowly with both players placing stones near the sides, preparing for the upcoming battle. Jung-shin's eyes never wavered, glaring at the board with so much intensity that Su-young beside him felt uncomfortable.

Yeong-ha striked first, attaching his stone to a lone white stone separated at the bottom from the others at the left side of the board. His opponent immediately brought his attention to that stone as well, making a hane on Yeong-ha's stone. Yeong-ha ignored it and brought his attention to the upper right corner, he began to connect his stones. Jung-shin tried to blocked out the commentator's words and focus on the board. White was still working on the bottom of the board when Yeong-ha changed his strategy. Very slowly, he switched his attention to different parts of the board in attempt to confuse white. His opponent became confused about what black was doing and before white realised it, it was surrounded in mid-game. Time was ticking but white made no move….he passed, Yeong-ha passed and the game was over. White couldn't find a way out of his predicament. Wherever he went, it only led him straight into black's evil clutches. Black won with the komi rule, 78 moku to 47.5 moku, quite a feat considering that his opponent was a 5-dan.

As Yeong-ha stood up from his seat, he looked down at the audience and gave Jung-shin a triumphant look. In response, Jung-shin raised a brow, not understanding why Yeong-ha had given him that look. It wasn't as if Jung-shin was the one who lost that game. Turning away, Jung-shin made his way for the door.

Yeong-ha frowned, the boy hadn't seemed impressed. Why wasn't he impressed? Yeong-ha had won against a 5-dan by a large margin didn't he? Hurriedly, he jumped off the stage and went after the two boys. Outside the convention hall, Yeong-ha stopped them.

"What did you think? You don't look like you understand that I have won the game." He said to Jung-shin. Did the boy truly not understand Go after all?

"Oh I understood that you won alright. But I didn't think that the game was all that great to be impressed about," Jung-shin replied. To be honest, it wasn't Yeong-ha's skill that was the problem. His opponent, despite being a 5-dan was just too weak that the boy's skill couldn't shine. However, Jung-shin could still find places in which Yeong-ha could have played better so that the game was in it's best form.

"My opponent was a 5-dan," Yeong-ha countered. He didn't understand why he was acting so childish and trying to impress the boy before him. It was all because of Su-young who said that Jung-shin was better than him that made him want to prove it otherwise.

"Rank doesn't define one's abilities, didn't you know that?"Jung-shin replied. "If Su-young hadn't been yapping by my ear all the time about pro matches, I would have thought that all 5-dans were that weak," he continued, ignoring Su-young whom had made a sound of protest. He paused for a while before speaking up again,"why don't we discuss the game?"


End file.
